Why don't PC cases have 5.25" external drive bays anymore?

Anti-Physical Media rhetoric is simply a way to make sure companies benefit from all sales so that used sales disappear.
I am not sure of that, the movie and music industry revenues peak was by a good amount during the CD and DVD craze of their respective era and I imagine they would have loved for it to never end, they had just no choice to compete with competition offering it (like pirated content) to offer something even more convenient than simply pirating and at an extremely low price. That it is possible to control resseling (and really they have no choice to control it a bit, considering just how much a digital resel market could look like totally open) is a side effect, I think they were forced into post physical media, not something they embraced at all, they even resisted it as much as they could because of just giant money the CD and DVD eras where, it is not like people in the industry like that people now expect only agree to pay a small spotify fee for all the music in the world instead of buying CD or Netflix instead of Dvds, they just do not have any choice.
 
I love this grand new era of music on demand. My only wish is for a mechanism to purchase persistence. For example, let's say I had my $10/month unlimited music streaming subscription. (Spotify, Apple, etc.) If for say $0.05 I could tag a song to stay with me for x devices in perpetuity, as insurance against that song disappearing as a result of licensing or other issues, I'd call that a screaming bargain.

As to 5.25" bays I must be one of the few remaining true believers although my motivations are a bit different. I've found burners to be useful for the following purposes:
- burning important data to m-disc to toss in a safety deposit box
- creating discs to facilitate having fun with vintage / retro hardware
- creating basic DVDs for elderly in-laws... in particular, I've been digitizing my wife's family video tapes (quite a mix: beta, VHS, video2000, video8 and Hi8...) and DVD video is precisely the format they want to hold onto these with. Zero chance that they would be comfortable with family videos "in the cloud"
 
Thought this was an interesting post as I discovered Recently that most cases didn’t have 5.25 drives. Apparently it’s for better air flow and sleeker looks. I’m completely fine with this because I can’t tell you the last time I actually used the drive. I have an external already... that I’ve never used.
 
I love this grand new era of music on demand. My only wish is for a mechanism to purchase persistence. For example, let's say I had my $10/month unlimited music streaming subscription. (Spotify, Apple, etc.) If for say $0.05 I could tag a song to stay with me for x devices in perpetuity, as insurance against that song disappearing as a result of licensing or other issues, I'd call that a screaming bargain.

As to 5.25" bays I must be one of the few remaining true believers although my motivations are a bit different. I've found burners to be useful for the following purposes:
- burning important data to m-disc to toss in a safety deposit box
- creating discs to facilitate having fun with vintage / retro hardware
- creating basic DVDs for elderly in-laws... in particular, I've been digitizing my wife's family video tapes (quite a mix: beta, VHS, video2000, video8 and Hi8...) and DVD video is precisely the format they want to hold onto these with. Zero chance that they would be comfortable with family videos "in the cloud"
Careful, CDR and DVDR don’t last that long. They’re not long term stable media.
 
Careful, CDR and DVDR don’t last that long. They’re not long term stable media.

Of course they aren't. You're volunteering to wax poetic to my 80-year old in-laws about the long term stability of LTO? :)
 
Jesus, I feel like it's 1988 all over again. BTW, this song ordering shit really only matters on tapes. For digital storage like CD's, we've always been able to skip ahead or even go directly to numbered tracks. I disagree about the last part. Though few people I know carefully order tracks with any layout in mind the same as people probably didn't do it as often as you think they did. Stuff probably got added to many mixtapes when things came to mind, not in any particular order.
I disagree strongly here. While I have anecdotal evidence only, I do have evidence otherwise.

The reason most people don't seem to care about track order is because they simply toss a bunch of songs in a playlist and don't bother to order them in any way. I do the exact opposite and always have. There should be a flow to music from track to track and I'll spend the time to make that happen. Additionally I typically build a playlist/CD as a sort of theme or subject and orient the track order to mesh properly. It takes extra time to do so but the results are quite superior. I've lost count of the number of people over the years who compliment me on my selection of tracks and track order on mix CDs I've made. I simply tell them what I said here. I come up with a theme or subject for the CD, choose songs which fit and then order them in a way that one song flows to the next. Sometimes that flow will be song subject matter or just simply that the tempo or sound of one song flows into the next. The flow from one song to the next doesn't always mean the transition is smooth but instead startling.

An example of subject is one I ran into by accident. Two country songs from the 90s by different artists tell what sounds like two sides of the same story. Neither song actually has anything to do with the other but the subject matter makes is sound as if it is. Confederate Railroad's Queen of Memphis and Pam Tillis' Maybe It Was Memphis. I've gotten quite a few comments over the years about having those two songs back to back.

An example of a startling transition I've used a couple of times is The Who's Who Are You. I have a habit of putting that song just after another song which tends to end sedately or quietly with a long, slow, quiet finish. When Who Are You comes on and the volume is turned up a bit it can startle people and produces a positive reaction.

The problem nowadays is that people simply throw a ton of tracks into a playlist and hit random or shuffle and that's all they're used to. There's no attempt at any sort of track order because it's random and you miss some experience when listening. What this amounts to in most cases is that people tend to skip song after song until they finally find something else in the playlist they want to listen to, at least when they're paying attention to the music.

I finally upgraded the head unit I've been using for over twenty years and which has been in three different vehicles. The current one has BT and USB connections so I can have my phone connected for Spotify, Pandora, phone playlists or simply a USB stick. Since I don't subscribe to any music services it's useless to use them since I can't skip tracks very often which mostly leaves me with the USB stick option for that. What I find myself doing is skipping tracks more often than I listen to tracks; much of the reason being a lousy flow from one track to the next. It's why I didn't get the cheaper version of the head unit without CD because I knew this would happen as the same thing happens on my computer when I have a large playlist on shuffle. I still listen to CDs I've made because it's a better listening experience.

This is also one of the reasons I stick to having 5.25 bays in my computer. I still burn CDs. I still rip DVDs and use DVDs for backup purposes.
Careful, CDR and DVDR don’t last that long. They’re not long term stable media.
Depends on what you mean by last long. I have some burned CDs more than 20 years old which still play perfectly. I don't remember when I got my first DVD burner but I know I've been doing backups with quality DVDs since at least 2006 and they all still work fine as I go through them occasionally to make sure they're still good.

It probably won't be too long before I also get a Bluray burner simply to redo all my backups and to make it easier to handle larger files for backup purposes.
 
When I built my Ryzen 3600 system that is my current system, it was my first custom build since 2013. I HAD to have a case that had a 5.25" drive bay for a burner.. Now, the burner which was one out of one of my older computers quit working a while ago probably from not being used. I have ~6 working burners that I could swap one in but I have just not needed or wanted to yet
 
I disagree strongly here. While I have anecdotal evidence only, I do have evidence otherwise.

The reason most people don't seem to care about track order is because they simply toss a bunch of songs in a playlist and don't bother to order them in any way. I do the exact opposite and always have. There should be a flow to music from track to track and I'll spend the time to make that happen. Additionally I typically build a playlist/CD as a sort of theme or subject and orient the track order to mesh properly. It takes extra time to do so but the results are quite superior. I've lost count of the number of people over the years who compliment me on my selection of tracks and track order on mix CDs I've made. I simply tell them what I said here. I come up with a theme or subject for the CD, choose songs which fit and then order them in a way that one song flows to the next. Sometimes that flow will be song subject matter or just simply that the tempo or sound of one song flows into the next. The flow from one song to the next doesn't always mean the transition is smooth but instead startling.

An example of subject is one I ran into by accident. Two country songs from the 90s by different artists tell what sounds like two sides of the same story. Neither song actually has anything to do with the other but the subject matter makes is sound as if it is. Confederate Railroad's Queen of Memphis and Pam Tillis' Maybe It Was Memphis. I've gotten quite a few comments over the years about having those two songs back to back.

An example of a startling transition I've used a couple of times is The Who's Who Are You. I have a habit of putting that song just after another song which tends to end sedately or quietly with a long, slow, quiet finish. When Who Are You comes on and the volume is turned up a bit it can startle people and produces a positive reaction.

The problem nowadays is that people simply throw a ton of tracks into a playlist and hit random or shuffle and that's all they're used to. There's no attempt at any sort of track order because it's random and you miss some experience when listening. What this amounts to in most cases is that people tend to skip song after song until they finally find something else in the playlist they want to listen to, at least when they're paying attention to the music.

I finally upgraded the head unit I've been using for over twenty years and which has been in three different vehicles. The current one has BT and USB connections so I can have my phone connected for Spotify, Pandora, phone playlists or simply a USB stick. Since I don't subscribe to any music services it's useless to use them since I can't skip tracks very often which mostly leaves me with the USB stick option for that. What I find myself doing is skipping tracks more often than I listen to tracks; much of the reason being a lousy flow from one track to the next. It's why I didn't get the cheaper version of the head unit without CD because I knew this would happen as the same thing happens on my computer when I have a large playlist on shuffle. I still listen to CDs I've made because it's a better listening experience.

This is also one of the reasons I stick to having 5.25 bays in my computer. I still burn CDs. I still rip DVDs and use DVDs for backup purposes.

Depends on what you mean by last long. I have some burned CDs more than 20 years old which still play perfectly. I don't remember when I got my first DVD burner but I know I've been doing backups with quality DVDs since at least 2006 and they all still work fine as I go through them occasionally to make sure they're still good.

It probably won't be too long before I also get a Bluray burner simply to redo all my backups and to make it easier to handle larger files for backup purposes.
Sounds like you need to invest in a personal media server. I've been using PLEX for years,I spent $70 on a lifelong plex pass like 5 years ago and it's been more than wonderful.

Love mine. I can do whatever the fuck I want with all of my own music and ripped movies/tv shows. Takes up less physical space than stacks of dvds, and I can have as much curated music (and audiobooks!) Set in either playlists or shuffle on my phone at any time. Also I can stream every single bit of media, regardless of what it is, to any device, anywhere, at any time.

My main thing is that I listen to music that won't ever be on music services. (Super small garage bands from my Punk days, lots of oldschool chip tune soundtracks, etc.) So I need my *own* streaming service. I have 500GB of music at this point.
(And 40TB of video)
 
Fwiw, you can add playlists to usb sticks and cds (if they're formatted correctly) and some players will read and recognize them. Your head unit may not, but you can check the documentation to be sure.
 
Sounds like you need to invest in a personal media server. I've been using PLEX for years,I spent $70 on a lifelong plex pass like 5 years ago and it's been more than wonderful.

Love mine. I can do whatever the fuck I want with all of my own music and ripped movies/tv shows. Takes up less physical space than stacks of dvds, and I can have as much curated music (and audiobooks!) Set in either playlists or shuffle on my phone at any time. Also I can stream every single bit of media, regardless of what it is, to any device, anywhere, at any time.

My main thing is that I listen to music that won't ever be on music services. (Super small garage bands from my Punk days, lots of oldschool chip tune soundtracks, etc.) So I need my *own* streaming service. I have 500GB of music at this point.
(And 40TB of video)
This. Blu-ray movies ripped in full, stored in the NAS and watched through streaming software. No broadband required. The real value of the rip for me has been easily bringing a small library of 50-60 movies on an external USB drive along with a Roku while traveling so we have content to watch at night (or during storms). Broadband in hotels is usually pretty poor for streaming movies. Just bring the drive, Roku (don't forget the f__king remote!), and an HDMI cable. Good for work travel too but I usually have a laptop to connect to the TV.
 
This. Blu-ray movies ripped in full, stored in the NAS and watched through streaming software. No broadband required. The real value of the rip for me has been easily bringing a small library of 50-60 movies on an external USB drive along with a Roku while traveling so we have content to watch at night (or during storms). Broadband in hotels is usually pretty poor for streaming movies. Just bring the drive, Roku (don't forget the f__king remote!), and an HDMI cable. Good for work travel too but I usually have a laptop to connect to the TV.
Or a chrome cast and use your laptop to cast to it. Also works well
 
Doesn't that require the craprastic hotel wifi?

A lot of times that's still fine, since it's direct to the TV and not going to the web (cast from your laptop -> chromecast). Some you can connect direct to also. Bit smaller than carrying the Roku.
 
I disagree strongly here. While I have anecdotal evidence only, I do have evidence otherwise.

The reason most people don't seem to care about track order is because they simply toss a bunch of songs in a playlist and don't bother to order them in any way. I do the exact opposite and always have. There should be a flow to music from track to track and I'll spend the time to make that happen. Additionally I typically build a playlist/CD as a sort of theme or subject and orient the track order to mesh properly. It takes extra time to do so but the results are quite superior. I've lost count of the number of people over the years who compliment me on my selection of tracks and track order on mix CDs I've made. I simply tell them what I said here. I come up with a theme or subject for the CD, choose songs which fit and then order them in a way that one song flows to the next. Sometimes that flow will be song subject matter or just simply that the tempo or sound of one song flows into the next. The flow from one song to the next doesn't always mean the transition is smooth but instead startling.

Anecdotes aren't evidence. Simply put, while this is something that can be done, it's entirely optional and with digital media, we could always avoid it by skipping around the disc. More over, I disagree that this can't be done with a Spotify playlist, because people literally do this every day. These can be shared via streaming services like Spotify and I've been sent plenty of playlists that I can play in my car through Android Auto. It works no differently than if someone had sent me a CD they made with a collection of songs. If anything, its more convenient and the troubles with a car's player disliking certain media brands and things like that are gone.
An example of subject is one I ran into by accident. Two country songs from the 90s by different artists tell what sounds like two sides of the same story. Neither song actually has anything to do with the other but the subject matter makes is sound as if it is. Confederate Railroad's Queen of Memphis and Pam Tillis' Maybe It Was Memphis. I've gotten quite a few comments over the years about having those two songs back to back.

An example of a startling transition I've used a couple of times is The Who's Who Are You. I have a habit of putting that song just after another song which tends to end sedately or quietly with a long, slow, quiet finish. When Who Are You comes on and the volume is turned up a bit it can startle people and produces a positive reaction.

The problem nowadays is that people simply throw a ton of tracks into a playlist and hit random or shuffle and that's all they're used to. There's no attempt at any sort of track order because it's random and you miss some experience when listening. What this amounts to in most cases is that people tend to skip song after song until they finally find something else in the playlist they want to listen to, at least when they're paying attention to the music.

I have news for you, people who made mix tapes and what not back in the day often threw songs onto them with no thought beyond "I liked that song so I included it."

I finally upgraded the head unit I've been using for over twenty years and which has been in three different vehicles. The current one has BT and USB connections so I can have my phone connected for Spotify, Pandora, phone playlists or simply a USB stick. Since I don't subscribe to any music services it's useless to use them since I can't skip tracks very often which mostly leaves me with the USB stick option for that. What I find myself doing is skipping tracks more often than I listen to tracks; much of the reason being a lousy flow from one track to the next. It's why I didn't get the cheaper version of the head unit without CD because I knew this would happen as the same thing happens on my computer when I have a large playlist on shuffle. I still listen to CDs I've made because it's a better listening experience.

Well that's on you. If you subscribed to one of the services you'd find that you can skip whatever you wanted. You can put your own playlists together and the more you use the service, the better it gets at recommending music for you to listen to. As for the flow thing, you can pick genres etc. and it can stick to a specific genre or certain kind of sound but it's not perfect. Even so, I've literally never met anyone who really gave as much of a shit about this as you do. You have fully given these services a chance, so you don't really know what your talking about when you say that listening to CD's is a better listening experience. Nothing you are doing on these CD's is exclusive to the CD's. You can download the tracks so they stay on your phone or media device and so that they are available if you are driving cross country and lose data access. Essentially, other than the monthly cost to avoid ads and limitations on skipping tracks there are no downsides to it. You can share music without sending someone a disc or meeting them in person to exchange music etc.

While I agree with everything about censorship and changing media after the fact being bad, I disagree with the experience or your take on streaming services. I made more than my share of mix CD's and tapes back in the day and the streaming services are essentially better in every way as they have fewer limitations. Any music you can think of is nearly always at your fingertips without having to track down an album, download it from somewhere etc. and then make CD's like its 1999.

This is also one of the reasons I stick to having 5.25 bays in my computer. I still burn CDs. I still rip DVDs and use DVDs for backup purposes.

Depends on what you mean by last long. I have some burned CDs more than 20 years old which still play perfectly. I don't remember when I got my first DVD burner but I know I've been doing backups with quality DVDs since at least 2006 and they all still work fine as I go through them occasionally to make sure they're still good.

It probably won't be too long before I also get a Bluray burner simply to redo all my backups and to make it easier to handle larger files for backup purposes.

I haven't had an optical drive in my computer for years. I've got one in my hardware cabinet in case I need it for some reason. My case still has 5 1/4" bays, but now I use that space for fans and radiators. I have a Blu-Ray burner and used to use it for backup purposes but I find flash drives and online backups a much better option.
 
I think that both sides of this have good points, and it's not my place to say which is right or wrong for anyone else but myself, even though my earlier posts were strongly worded as though it should be true for all. I just don't want people who want the older formats to lose that option.

I think the 5.25 bay is an excellent way to personalize a case. At one time there were many options for a bay of that size or a combination of bays. I like the option to improve/change/add/personalize the functions of the front of a computer tower. One poster had a great idea saying he/she would like the front I/O to be on a bay so that when new connections become available (like newer USB formats, or whatever), old cases can still be used with the latest in front connectivity. Many have loved hotswap bays on the front or drawers for dongles, or card readers or whatever they need. There was even a cassette bay a while ago. Some loved having physical fan control knobs or temperature displays. Who's to say newer technolgogies couldn't still make use of a 5.25 bay? It's just a sensible way to keep the case able to be personalized and extra functional up front.

My CM Stacker has 12 total front 5.25 bays (if you count the removable power/reset audio/USB2/1394 thing that came with it), which is insane overkill, but I was hoping that I could just buy a newer I/O thing with power/reset every so many years to fit in one of those to make the case last for decades. Some of those are internal hard drive fan cages that can be moved up or down, some just filtered vents for fans, some are optical drives, and one is a card reader. I think that cases should keep the concept so that companies can make items that keep case fronts versatile. Those that still like huge radiators could still attach there if they wanted, or just mount up top.

On the topic of ordering songs, I won't argue with the great composers when they ordered the movements within their symphonies centuries ago, and I still think there should be room for that in mondern day music for those that like the effect.
 
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If you don't like it, buy a case with a 5.25" bay; there's still lots available.
You mean, there's still a few left available... mostly all visually and technically obsolete 'old stock'. Usually awful airflow, no USB 3.1/C on front/top panel, no tempered glass, no RPG, no color choice other than black, limited radiator placement size/location options, and almost always full sized towers :(

/I need the burner slot... so I'm probably getting this (the best of a rather poor lot):

Fractal Design Define 7

<edit>
Or just give up and get the case I wanted in the first place, the Lian Li 011 and use an external
 
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It might come to that...
My main trouble is that I have a weird built-in computer desk that fits a 18.5 inch mid-tower case, max, which excludes most of the cases I really liked.
Also wanting to do an all-white build really complicates things too + needing at least three 3.5 HDD slots (and four would be better) :/
 
Don’t get me started on the vid. Just traded my 3080 for another one because it wouldn’t fit.
 
Mate, this opens up a whole evil can of angry worms. External:
■ router
■ card reader
■ cd burner
■ hard drive
■ sound controller box
■ other things.

It's like half the comouter sitting outside of the case nd instead on the deak

Soon also video card because she won't fit!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Yes the only thing that should always be external is the Router & modem I dislike the combo router & modem devices I have a separate cable modem/EMTA (combo as that is all Charter gives out today I can't even buy my own Cable/EMTA device that is certified for Charter Comcast can why can't Charter do it?)
I don't like the trend of external everything that is happening for today's modern computers

Don’t get me started on the vid. Just traded my 3080 for another one because it wouldn’t fit.
Isn't someone going to get me started
 
You mean, there's still a few left available... mostly all visually and technically obsolete 'old stock'. Usually awful airflow, no USB 3.1/C on front/top panel, no tempered glass, no RPG, no color choice other than black, limited radiator placement size/location options, and almost always full sized towers :(

/I need the burner slot... so I'm probably getting this (the best of a rather poor lot):

Fractal Design Define 7

<edit>
Or just give up and get the case I wanted in the first place, the Lian Li 011 and use an external
The Fractal Define 7 is my favorite case I've ever built in. It's a fantastic and configurable to do whatever you need.
I've built a WC system in the standard define 7 and my personal workstation is aircooled in the 7 XL.
 
Never been a fan of Fractal. Last one I had was (I think) the define 5 - it's in the closet now holding up a shelf. Had to put the WC fans OUTSIDE the case, wasn't big enough for the rad+fans to clear the normal ATX motherboard.

Garbage.
 
The Fractal Define 7 is my favorite case I've ever built in. It's a fantastic and configurable to do whatever you need.
I've built a WC system in the standard define 7 and my personal workstation is aircooled in the 7 XL.
I had a Define 7 XL briefly. I got a defective one and had to send it back. Compared to my original Define XL from 2012 I wasn't all that impressed. They've cheaped out on a few things. The big downgrade was the plastic feet. The old model had metal ones. Surprise, mine arrived with a busted foot and some other damage/defects that probably happened at the factory since the box and packing material were all in good shape and there was only one layer of tape on the box. The other thing I don't like is no screws for the top and sides. The snap on side and top panel thing is convenient if you're in and out of the case all the time or while doing a build/testing but it should have screw holes too IMHO.

I ended up with a be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900r2. 2 5.25" bays. It does a nice job on the quiet thing but I have a hard time recommending it unless you like to spend 8 hours messing with it trying to make everything fit. Also plan on grinding all the paint off around the screw holes in the PSU holder because you end up pulling it every time you take it apart and try a different configuration. It is definitely not tool-less, though all you need is a #2 Phillips. I ended up with my mainboard mounted upside down so I could fit a rad in the top without blocking slots. With the board right side up I would have had to lower it at least one position to allow the mainboard 12V connectors to clear the rad fans, which would result in the PSU shroud blocking the bottom slot. Maybe I should take it apart again and see if the bottom slot is blocked without the shroud. I got to the end and the shroud hit the 12V power connector so it's not installed at the moment.

If you like the Fractal look but not the price and don't mind black you might want to look at the Cooler Master Silencio. I have a $100 Silencio S400 mATX case (1 5.25" bay, behind the door) slated for a Christmas build for my dad (The no screws thing killed the Fractal Define series idea. I'd be ok with it but dad wouldn't like it. Just trust me on this one). Basically I went looking for something Fractal Define-looking in black with no window and this is what I came up with. There's a tempered glass window version if you want one. There's also an S600 ATX version. I'll have more to say after doing a build in it. I'm waiting for a few more parts, but they should be here by next Wednesday. It just seems quite well thought out for a case that goes for $100 and looks like it has the quiet case features. Sound insulation on the side panels, intake filters, indirect air intake, etc. Also 2 tops, one mesh and the other solid.
 
Never been a fan of Fractal. Last one I had was (I think) the define 5 - it's in the closet now holding up a shelf. Had to put the WC fans OUTSIDE the case, wasn't big enough for the rad+fans to clear the normal ATX motherboard.

Garbage.

I just got a Fractal Design Define R4 (Used) back in early July 2020 I got it with no window (I don't care for show but it would be nice so I can actually see the AMD Wrath Prism's LED light show). If you want to part with some parts as I was gimped of some parts that are now un-obtainum (for a sane price if at all). PM me if you want to sell them.
 
I just got a Fractal Design Define R4 (Used) back in early July 2020 I got it with no window (I don't care for show but it would be nice so I can actually see the AMD Wrath Prism's LED light show). If you want to part with some parts as I was gimped of some parts that are now un-obtainum (for a sane price if at all). PM me if you want to sell them.
I'll gladly dump it. Let me snag some pics. Window has some scratches on it, but the rest of the box is in fine shape, and I have all the parts for it (somewhere) around here. What are you looking for?

Hell, pay me $40 plus shipping, and I'll send the entire thing. Would cost a bit though, as I don't have the original box and would have to get it packaged up by UPS.
 
Well, my case hunting circus is over (for this year at least). NewEgg listed a $70 off sale on the Fractal:

Fractal Design Define 7 Gray Brushed Aluminum/Steel E-ATX Silent Modular Tempered Glass Window Mid Tower Computer Case

Sale ends today (Sunday), was $169 - now $99.
Semi-unfortunately, it was only the gray case with the slightly tinted glass panel that was reduced. The white case with the clear glass stayed full price. MicroCenter doesn't stock either case, or I'd have bought it there. I'd planned to do an 'all-white' upgrade, but since all of my existing components were black/gray anyway, the savings was just too good to pass up. The gray will highlight my X470 Taichi board nicely anyway.
/can wait a few years now and do the white case, etc with the future Zen 4 or 5 build :)
 
My newest case is that case (Define 7). You won't be disappointed for the most part. I think cable management was a small issue, but only because of the limited options with my power supply. If I had bought some different PSU wires, it would have been a super easy build. I didn't care enough about perfect aesthetics, so I didn't bother sinking money into aftermarket PSU wires, and it turned out ok. No complaints about the case.

EDIT! It turns out my case isn't the 7. It's the r6: https://www.newegg.com/black-fracta...-tower/p/N82E16811352090?Item=N82E16811352090

Either way, it worked fine for me.
 
I think that both sides of this have good points, and it's not my place to say which is right or wrong for anyone else but myself, even though my earlier posts were strongly worded as though it should be true for all. I just don't want people who want the older formats to lose that option.

I think the 5.25 bay is an excellent way to personalize a case. At one time there were many options for a bay of that size or a combination of bays. I like the option to improve/change/add/personalize the functions of the front of a computer tower. One poster had a great idea saying he/she would like the front I/O to be on a bay so that when new connections become available (like newer USB formats, or whatever), old cases can still be used with the latest in front connectivity. Many have loved hotswap bays on the front or drawers for dongles, or card readers or whatever they need. There was even a cassette bay a while ago. Some loved having physical fan control knobs or temperature displays. Who's to say newer technolgogies couldn't still make use of a 5.25 bay? It's just a sensible way to keep the case able to be personalized and extra functional up front.

My CM Stacker has 12 total front 5.25 bays (if you count the removable power/reset audio/USB2/1394 thing that came with it), which is insane overkill, but I was hoping that I could just buy a newer I/O thing with power/reset every so many years to fit in one of those to make the case last for decades. Some of those are internal hard drive fan cages that can be moved up or down, some just filtered vents for fans, some are optical drives, and one is a card reader. I think that cases should keep the concept so that companies can make items that keep case fronts versatile. Those that still like huge radiators could still attach there if they wanted, or just mount up top.

On the topic of ordering songs, I won't argue with the great composers when they ordered the movements within their symphonies centuries ago, and I still think there should be room for that in mondern day music for those that like the effect.
It's true.
On the other hand, people usually install displays, usb ports, media card readers, fan controllers, etc, which don't utilize 5.25" bays lenghth even in half, so they could be shortened.

I've got 2* FT02 (with 5 bays each), and monstrous TJ11 with 9 bays (still not enough for me :p)
But I've got many vintage devices, including 5.25" scanners, tape players, etc, I will probably not install(because only 9 bays). But I love fan controllers(got even with analog 'clocks',), VFD displays, Audigy 2ZS drive (nostalgia and very usable thing)
 
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I have a DVD burner in my computer because i'll be d*mned if I know where the cover plate is =p I'm honestly not sure the drive still works? I haven't used it in several years... When I upgrade this pc next I am going to get a smaller case I have a NZXT H630 that I bought 8~9yrs ago... because at the time it was the only white with black accents case I could find that I liked.. but it is much too big to be worth it now.. Whatever at the time I buy a new case it won't have a 5 1/4 drive spaces (probably) .. but it certainly won't be a feature I'm seeking out.

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look at the freaking size of this thing... i have it on a diy cart with casters but cause I'll be d*mned if I'm lifting this thing out from under my desk... and carrying it anyplace to clean / work on it is just a drag it is probably ~40lbs with all the hardware in it... it is sort of funny that this long ago even 5 1/4 bays were on the way out as this full tower only has two of them...
 
Lol 40lbs. I have a 1000D at home. I’ll be damned if I know how you’re supposed to even get it on its side without 3 people.
 
I had an external CD/DVD drive in the past to use with my SFF case and it seems like that's the way to go with all but the absolute largest cases anymore. Very few people use CDs frequently anymore, and it saves space inside for more important components, particularly larger or numerous case fans or radiators. CDs have pretty much gone the way floppy disks went in the early 2000s, albeit to a lesser extent, but I highly doubt they're gonna make a comeback anytime soon.
 
Have burners in my gaming pc and my wifes both different cases. Never use them though. I do see plenty with 5.25 bays though so doesnt seem too uncommon from my perspective.
 
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